Open workshops in Mumbai · In-company programmes across India
Grooming, etiquette and presence, taught to the Sabira Merchant standard.
Programmes designed and overseen by Sabira Merchant, the etiquette and diction coach behind India’s Miss World and Miss Universe winners, and the host of Doordarshan’s What’s the Good Word? for fifteen years. Delivered by faculty she has certified. Facilitated by Princeton Academy.
Next open workshops
Book a seat. Every date on one page.
Small cohorts in Mumbai, one day or half a day, with lunch, materials and a certificate included. Every batch is published here first.
For the fee, talk to our L&D consultants. Every seat includes materials, the certificate, lunch and tea, and group bookings of three or more are priced together. See the full calendar.
Three ways in
For professionals
Join an open workshop
One day in a small Mumbai cohort. Presence, protocol, dining, dress and conversation, practised rather than lectured. Book a single seat.
See all six dates →For students and parents
Campus to corporate
Two days for college students, fresh graduates and first-time professionals. First impressions, conversation, dining, digital conduct and the first ninety days at work.
About the workshop →The Method
Designed by her. Delivered to her standard.
Sabira Merchant has spent decades teaching people how to walk into a room. Her curriculum is the product: what is taught, in what order, how it is practised, and how it is assessed. Faculty are trained and certified on it, sessions follow it, and she reviews the work that comes out of them.
That is what makes the certificate mean something whichever faculty member is in the room, and what lets a company roll the same programme out across cities without it drifting.
How the Method worksWhat every programme carries
- Her curriculum. Modules, exercises and standards written and revised by Sabira Merchant.
- Certified faculty. Trainers who have been taught by her, observed by her and certified to deliver her material.
- Her assessment. Participant assessments follow her rubric and are reviewed under her direction.
- A certificate that says so. Certified on the Sabira Merchant curriculum, issued through Princeton Academy.
The programmes
Six programmes on one curriculum. All six run as open workshops in Mumbai and in-company for teams.
Open workshop · One day
Corporate Grooming & Etiquette
The flagship. Executive presence, business protocol, dining, conversation, grooming and dress in one practised day.
Programme details →Open workshop · Half day
Business Dining Etiquette
A working meal at a Mumbai hotel, coached course by course. Hosting, being hosted, and the conversation in between.
Programme details →Open workshop · Two days
Young Professionals
Campus to corporate for students, graduates and first-jobbers. Confidence, conduct and workplace readiness.
Programme details →Small cohort · Senior managers
Executive Presence for Leaders
Authority without volume. Voice, bearing, image and protocol for people who represent the organisation.
Programme details →Open workshop · Frontline teams
Client-Facing & Front-Office
Grooming and service etiquette for banking, hospitality, luxury retail, healthcare and field sales teams.
Programme details →Open workshop · Global teams
International Assignments
Business etiquette for transferees and teams that work with overseas principals, clients and colleagues.
Programme details →“Very simply, there is no one in this country quite like Sabira Merchant. She is irreplaceable.”
Lara Dutta, Miss Universe 2000, on the memoir A Full Life
About Sabira Merchant
An actor first, which is why the teaching works.
Sabira Merchant began in Bombay’s English-language theatre in the 1960s and went on to host Doordarshan’s What’s the Good Word? for fifteen years. Femina Miss India brought her in to prepare its winners for the world stage. Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Yukta Mookhey and Diana Hayden were coached by her before their international titles, and in 2025 she was still doing it.
“I am essentially an actor,” she has said. “It is always easy to put myself in somebody else’s shoes, and that is where my work as a teacher becomes easier. My only approach is simplicity.”
Her story
In brief
- Theatre Group Bombay, from the 1960s. Award-winning Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.
- Host of Doordarshan’s What’s the Good Word? for fifteen years.
- Etiquette and diction coach to Femina Miss India winners, still coaching in 2025.
- Author of the memoir A Full Life (Jaico, 2022).
Sabira Merchant in the press
Three questions people ask first
Who conducts the sessions?
Every programme is designed and overseen by Sabira Merchant. Sessions are delivered by faculty she has trained and certified on her curriculum. Depending on the format, batch and schedule, Ms Merchant may conduct part of a session personally. The content, the standards and the assessment are hers in every case.
Can I book a single seat, or is this only for companies?
Both. All six programmes run as open workshops in Mumbai, where anyone can book a seat, and in-company for teams, scoped to the organisation and delivered at your office or a venue.
What does a participant leave with?
A certificate of completion on the Sabira Merchant curriculum, issued through Princeton Academy, along with the reference guides and checklists used on the day. In-company programmes also give HR an attendance and assessment summary per participant.
Start with a date, or start with a conversation.
Open workshop dates are published on this site. For the fee, talk to our L&D consultants. In-company programmes begin with a short call about your team.